The Casting Offer
The moment the lunch rush eased, Hyejin took out the business card and looked it over.
Variety Bureau
Producer Park Minseok
He wanted to talk about Yujin. The child was cute, certainly—but cute enough for a broadcast network to take an interest?
She pulled out her phone and dialed the number on the card.
"Hello?"
"Yes, Producer. You gave me your card at the restaurant earlier."
"Ah, ma'am. Do you happen to have a moment right now?"
"I... I don't think I can until I get off work. But what was it you wanted to talk about?"
She couldn't help wondering what this producer had to say that required her to set aside time just for him.
"A program I direct is starting up again as a new season, and I'd like to cast your child. Have you heard of We Are Married?"
"Oh my! You're the producer of that show?"
Hyejin was a devoted fan of We Are Married. Work kept her from the live broadcast, but every Sunday she made a point of catching the rerun.
"So you do watch us. The truth is, while we're putting the new season together we want to change things up, and we'd love to have Yujin on."
"But what could Yujin even do on a show like that?"
It was an honest question.
"This season we're shooting around a parenting theme. We were hoping your son could appear as a pretend child for our cast."
Only then did she understand why they wanted Yujin. Son, though?
"Um... Yujin is my daughter."
"What? Ah—I'm sorry, that was rude of me. Yujin's looks are so striking I got it wrong. In that case, could you come by the café on the first floor of MBS after you get off?"
"Yes. I finish at eight, so I'll see you then."
For now, she decided she would at least meet the producer.
Before she knew it the hour had come. Hyejin untied her apron, took Yujin by the hand, and headed for the MBS building.
"Hello. This is our writer."
"Hello. I'm writer Shin Jeongeum."
"Hello, I'm Choi Hyejin. Yujin, say hello."
"Hello."
Yujin ducked her head in a shy little bow, and Jeongeum's eyes lit as she looked at the child.
This is going to work.
She understood at once why Minseok had come bursting back after lunch, crowing that he'd hit on a brilliant idea. Even to her eye, the child's looks had commercial appeal.
"Well then, let's sit and go over the details."
Minseok ordered a drink for Hyejin and a chocolate latte for Yujin, then set his materials out on the table.
"First, the practical side—that's what matters. Let me start with the appearance fee. We'd like to contract at five hundred thousand won per episode, ten episodes in all. If the ratings justify it, we'll extend, and at that point we can renegotiate the fee upward."
He'd pictured Hyejin raising a child while working restaurant shifts, and he'd led with the money, hoping to win her over on the spot.
The figure was higher than she'd expected. Hyejin narrowed her eyes and studied his face.
The show aired once a week, which came to a little over two million won a month—more than her own salary.
It was a great deal of money for a child to earn. Even so, she didn't nod too quickly. She chose her next words with care.
"Do you have a draft of the contract?"
Minseok turned the pages and showed it to her.
Hyejin read slowly down the clauses printed on the paper.
Filming was limited to once a week and no more than six hours in a day. There was also a provision forbidding unreasonable demands, or anything that would place a physical or emotional burden on the child.
Even to a layperson, the terms looked favorable.
Once a week shouldn't interfere with her shifts at the restaurant, either. Still, she meant to check every line before she committed.
"I'd like to read the contract more carefully at home. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
Minseok answered with a smile.
"If you decide to go ahead, there'll be a camera test for the child. Pass that, and we sign immediately—filming starts two weeks later. So if you can give us an answer within the week, just call this number."
He offered the rest of the materials with careful courtesy.
Hyejin gathered what he'd handed her and rose.
"I'll look everything over at home and get in touch. Yujin's feelings matter too."
"Of course. We'll be hoping for good news."
Once Hyejin left with Yujin, Jeongeum spoke.
"Where on earth did you find a kid like that?"
"Ran into her at a restaurant. I'm telling you, until then I wasn't even thinking about a concept like this. Anyway, Writer Shin—draft a script on the assumption we book her. We'll try the parenting concept with just one couple first, and if the response is good, we expand."
"Got it. I'll build in as many fun scenes as I can."
He nodded, satisfied with the answer, and knocked back what was left of his coffee.
A week later, Hyejin and Yujin sat in an MBS conference room with the core production team of We Are Married.
"Thank you for accepting. Today we'll run a camera test and confirm that filming is actually feasible. Yujin's still young, so we can't afford any surprises on set. If that checks out, we can sign the contract right here today."
Jeongeum, the head writer, set a sheaf of documents on the table and offered a gentle smile.
"This is the revised copy, with the clauses you asked us to add. And you can think of today's test as doubling as a profile shoot."
The tension was plain on Hyejin's face. She nodded and closed her hand tightly around Yujin's, seated beside her.
Before long they moved to a photo studio crowded with lights.
"Mom, am I going to be on TV?"
"If our Yujin looks pretty, you might. You can listen nicely to the uncles and aunties, can't you?"
Yujin was usually well-behaved, but Hyejin was quietly anxious that the unfamiliar set might make her shrink. The child, though, showed no fear of the towering equipment. She looked around the studio with wide, curious eyes.
"Ma'am, we're going to change Yujin's clothes. Would you like to come along?"
"Oh—yes. Yujin, let's go."
Hyejin led her by the hand into the dressing room the staff indicated.
Every outfit was cut to emphasize how cute she was, prepared to match a range of themes—athletic wear, pajamas, and more.
The stylists held the clothes up against Yujin one by one, studying with care which would suit her best.
Yujin stood perfectly still, as if she'd become a doll, quietly accepting the adults' hands.
"How is this child so well-behaved and so pretty?"
"I know. She's a natural in front of a camera."
The stylists, tasked with dressing a child who had never been on a shoot, had been quietly worried. That worry seemed to fall away.
The outfits were chosen, and the shoot began.
The first look was a pair of adorable pajamas.
Under the lights, the shutter kept firing at every tiny movement Yujin made.
"All right—eyes this way, and just a little smile?"
At the writer's cue, Yujin let a faint smile touch her mouth and looked straight into the lens.
As if to catch that exact moment, the flash burst again and again without pause.
"Costume change!"
At the writer's signal, the staff broke into a bustle.
"Want to try this one next?"
The outfit the stylist held out was a dress far showier than the last, trimmed in lace.
Yujin stared at it as if something about it displeased her.
"Haha... I'm sorry. My child doesn't really like skirts."
Hyejin added it in a fluster, watching Yujin's mood.
"Hmm... Chief, what should we do?"
"No, this is better. Why don't we go boyish instead? I think it'll suit her more."
At the senior stylist's suggestion, the stylist immediately started rifling through the clothes.
"Then how about this?"
What she drew out this time was a pair of denim overalls. Only then did a little life come back into Yujin's eyes, and they began to shine.
The second shoot began.
With each click of the shutter, Yujin held the pose the writer had set for her and looked into the camera.
"Yes—that expression just now was perfect! Can we go a little more confident?"
When they'd finished the athletic wear as well, satisfied gasps and applause broke across the set.
"Great work, everyone!"
A short while later, Yujin and Hyejin were back in the meeting room with Minseok and Jeongeum.
Jeongeum turned the monitor toward them, the shoot still up on the screen, and smiled with open satisfaction.
"From what we saw today, the actual filming shouldn't be a problem. Shall we sign?"
"Yes. Do I sign here?"
"Yes. Your name and seal, please."
On the way home after the contract was done, Hyejin looked up at the sky.
The moonlight was bright, and through her chest spread a pleasant flutter to match it.
With money like this, I can buy Yujin something delicious. Nice clothes, too.
Even inside the grinding reality of raising a child alone, it felt as if she could finally breathe.
Her steps lighter than before, Hyejin hurried home with Yujin.
"Mom, I'm sleepy. Carry me."
Yujin, knowing nothing of what was moving through her mother's heart, simply rubbed her drowsy eyes and held both arms out to her.